Countries dealing with “triple funding crisis” of inadequate local weather finance, inadequate HIV funding, and crippling debt

GENEVA, Switzerland, 21 November 2024 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- The local weather disaster might disrupt HIV companies and result in growing HIV danger for a number of the most susceptible populations, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have warned on the COP29 Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In a new report, the UN businesses warn that eroded public well being infrastructure, heightened prevalence of illnesses that work together with HIV, meals insecurity, water shortage, and the mass displacement of individuals – all more likely to intensify because of local weather change – might drive new HIV infections and result in extra AIDS-related deaths.

“The progress we have made tackling AIDS is fragile – and it could be unwound by runaway climate change,” mentioned Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Some of the most climate vulnerable countries also have the highest HIV burden, and are the countries in the greatest debt, compounding injustice on injustice.  We need to find ways to ease the triple funding crisis of AIDS, climate, and debt, and invest in the communities on the front lines of these intertwined crises.”

Many of the international locations on the sharp finish of local weather change are additionally dealing with the worst impacts of the AIDS epidemic, and local weather change is more likely to exacerbate the inequalities of AIDS, UNAIDS says. Of the 4,000 adolescent women and younger ladies aged between 15 and 24 years newly contaminated with HIV each week, 3,100 stay in Sub-Saharan Africa, the place extreme heatwaves and drought might go away entire areas uninhabitable.

HIV-focused establishments are responding, with 70% of financing from the Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria set to go to 50 of probably the most climate-vulnerable international locations. But many of those international locations are dealing with a triple funding disaster, with inadequate local weather finance, a US$ 9.5billion hole in HIV funding, and the crushing burden of sovereign debt.

Almost half of humanity stay in international locations spending extra on servicing debt than on healthcare. In Western and Central Africa, international locations are spending seven occasions extra on repaying debt than on well being. With 71% of public local weather financing coming as loans moderately than grants, the local weather disaster will solely make this drawback worse.

Last 12 months, Malawi was hit by Cyclone Freddy amid a cholera outbreak simply because the nation was recovering from COVID-19. Some of the worst hit areas had been these with the very best burden of HIV. Around 37 000 folks residing with HIV had been displaced by the storm, pressured to navigate overwhelmed companies and shortages of medicines – and this is only one of many examples of how local weather change is already impacting the HIV response.

At the report launch on the sidelines of the COP29 Climate Conference in Baku, governments can be urged to deal with inequalities, construct correct management and governance methods, and supply sustainable financing to forestall a climate-induced AIDS disaster.

“At COP29 we can see increasing recognition that the climate crisis is compounding existing health challenges” mentioned Marcos Neto, Director, Bureau of Policy & Programme Support, UNDP. “The AIDS response has shown us what is possible when communities most impacted, governments and institutions unite. By embedding HIV and health considerations into climate action, we can protect hard-won progress, build resilience for the future, and leave no one behind.”

Distributed by  African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf on the UNAIDS.

Notes

On Thursday 21 November, UNAIDS and UNDP are internet hosting a dialogue on HIV and local weather change at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan on the Azerbaijan Pavillion from 14:00-15:00 AZT.

The Climate Crisis and HIV: A Policy Brief from UNDP and UNAIDS is accessible here.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and evokes the world to attain its shared imaginative and prescient of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and 0 AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works carefully with world and nationwide companions in the direction of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as a part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn extra at unaids.org and join with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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